Hummingbird Heart
by dustkeeper
Summary: AU Props. Feeling unappreciated by the glee club and, especially, her boyfriend, Tina accidentally finds a friend at Breadstix and learns the true meaning of friendship, love, and standing up for who you are. Starkid crossover. Tike.
1. Chocolate Shakes and Karaoke

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything except for the writing in this story. Starkid is, of course, based loosely off the members of the online musical theater group, but as I have never met them nor am I representing them as their canon selves, the personalities are most likely different. Thanks for reading!

* * *

_She's one of a kind._

One of a kind.

The words kept reverberating around Tina's mind as she frowned down at her Coke. Yes, maybe she shouldn't have yelled at glee practice. Maybe now wasn't the appropriate time to snap and rant about how horrible she had been treated the last three years, and even Tina would admit Rachel was talented…

But Mike had never called Tina "one of a kind," and in a time when his girlfriend was obviously feeling unappreciated, she should have been the one he said that about, despite her being wrong. Boyfriends supported their girlfriends, and vice versa. Tina wasn't perfect, but she couldn't remember a time in which she demeaned Mike or compared him to his face to another guy in glee club. She may have been somewhat selfish in her ranting earlier that day, and maybe even in leaving a half-assembled assortment of fabrics on her bed just to sit alone at a booth in Breadstix, but was she really selfish in wanting to be the only extraordinary girl in her boyfriend's life? Wanting the kind of respect Rachel was given by everyone despite her horrible attitude, even by Mike, who worked harder at each dance practice than Rachel Berry had in her entire glee club career?

She couldn't help it. The final straw of that afternoon's glee practice added to the years' worth of pent-up frustration broke the dam holding the tears in her eyes. Hiding her face behind her hair and hands, she barely noticed the waiter too nervous to confront her for her order, and didn't even care. All the junior felt was emotionally exhausted.

The thump of a glass being placed on her table jolted her out of her self-pity a few minutes later. Puzzled, Tina dared to peer up at the tall, irresistible chocolate shake sitting in front of her, wondering why in the world she was the one receiving it. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she wearily corrected the waiter, "I… I didn't order this."

"It's from the guy over there," Tina followed the pointed finger to see a brunet boy around her age sending her a warm half-smile. Blushing, Tina tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, sending a weak smile of gratitude in return and mouthing "thank you." He nodded, winking at her before joining the conversation happening around the crowded table of teenagers he was sitting with.

She didn't even know the guy- she had never seen any of the kids at the table in her life – but somehow, that small gesture of kindness from a complete stranger made her feel something akin to hope. For once that entire day, she felt cared for – appreciated. She felt as though the silent thanks she sent across the room wasn't enough, and wished she could repay him somehow.

Tina resisted the urge to glance back at his table as she sipped the sundae from her straw.

She had just stepped outside the front doors when her phone buzzed. Part of her didn't want to even check what the text message said, dreading another detailing of why Rachel Berry was so outstanding in Mike's standards, but opened the message when she saw it was from Blaine.

"_You okay? You took a pretty hard hit at the fountain today and Mike is wondering why you aren't replying to any of his texts."_

Tina sighed, restraining herself from rolling her eyes at the last part; boys were so clueless! Well, to be fair, at least Blaine seemed genuinely concerned for her health, and that boy from earlier…

"Oomph!" Tina should have known by now to stop texting and walking at the same time, if not from her earlier tumble then by the endless lecturing from Quinn after her accident.

She looked up at the unfortunate body she bumped into and panicked. It was the boy who bought her the sundae.

"I'm sorry!" She sputtered out, hurriedly stuffing her phone in her purse. That piece of technology was bringing her nothing but trouble.

"No harm done," he smiled, offering his hand, "I'm Brian. Nice to bump into you."

"Tina," she shook his hand, "Thank you, by the way. For the ice cream."

He shrugged, "You looked as though you could use some ice cream."

Glancing around, Tina realized the group of people he had been sitting with were nowhere to be found. "Where are your friends?"

"Well, aside from my ride who is currently utilizing the restroom, all on their way to our glee club party," Brian glanced at his own cell phone, which lit up with a text from a friend asking what was taking him so long.

Tina gaped, "You're in glee club?"

He shifted, embarrassed, "Yeah. Is that… bad?"

"No!" She beamed, not believing her luck, "I'm in glee club, too, actually. New Directions, from William McKinley High. Is your club going to Nationals, too?"

The brunet looked notably relieved, "Yeah. Starkid, Umbridge High. I guess that means we're rivals." He sent her a cocky smirk, "I must warn you, I have a very impressive sidestep… in the back row, where no one can see my feet."

She chuckled, "Not next to my sexy swaying in the back corner." The amusement in her eyes faltered, however, as the day's events replayed themselves in her memory.

He studied her for a minute, brows furrowed, "Is that what you were upset about?"

The Asian blinked, taken aback, "Wh-What?"

Brian explained, "Earlier, in the restaurant. You… seemed to have the look of someone feeling underappreciated." The reality of his words seemed to sink into his expression, "Shi-… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"No," she shook her head, "You're right." It was a little creepy, actually. Was she really that easy to read, or was he psychic? "How did you know?"

"Let's just say I know that look well," he offered, smiling, "Hey, if you're not busy or anything, would you like to come hang out with us? I know we're the competition and all, but we're not going to be discussing super secret glee club matters. Just karaoke and video games. You can ride with me and my friend Dylan."

Maybe it was the look in his eyes – the warm feeling that she could trust him somehow – or that she just needed to get her mind off of her own glee club matters, but for some reason she ended up riding in the back of a stranger's car to a party full of people she didn't know.

* * *

"Nice," Tina admired the two-story house as she stepped into the driveway.

"Our friend Meredith has the official party house," Dylan informed her, leading the way through the front door. A group of teenagers were spread across the living room, two boys fiddling with a gaming system attached to a plasma TV screen.

"What took you so long?" A pretty brunette called out from one of the couches.

"Well, to leave out some undesirable details, Dylan over here ate that steak…" Brian teased, leading the trio deeper into the room.

"Hey! I was just having fun watching little Brolden try to flirt with a girl," was the rebuttal.

"Hey, it worked! Congrats, B-Hole!" a tall muscular boy pointed out from behind the TV.

Blushing, Tina was beginning to second-think her decision to attend the party.

"So, who is the hottie?" Another girl wagged her eyebrows playfully.

"Just ignore them, they're morons," Brian assured Tina while trying to fight a smile. Turning to his older friends, he gently pushed Tina forward, "Guys, this is Tina. She's from McKinley's glee club."

"Spy!" A boy with longer brown hair accused lightheartedly, pointing an accusing finger.

"Tina's a spyyyy…" Sang another boy with much shorter brown hair, seeming to share an inside joke with some people next to him.

"Oh, you guys," reprimanded the first girl, who walked over to offer her hand to Tina, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Julia."

One by one, everyone else followed suit, shaking her hand or high-fiving her. When a strikingly familiar boy with a mop of curly hair approached her, she did a double-take,"… Blaine? Is that you?"

Everyone sent the boy curious glances. He seemed puzzled, himself, "Uh… no?"

Cheeks flaming as she realized her mistake, she explained, "Oh, I'm sorry. You look scarily alike a friend of mine… with about three pounds less hair gel and three times more hair."

He raised an eyebrow, "So… I guess it's the face?" Tina laughed it off, and he sent her a charming grin, "My name's Darren, actually, and I must say I've never worn hair gel in my life."

"Then I'm not sure how I confused you two," she chuckled.

"Okay, the machine is hooked up: let the karaoke begin!" Joe Walker announced, eliciting cheers from everyone in the room.

"Oooh, I'm first!" Joey waved his hand around wildly.

"Hey, I get to go first! You went first last time!" Brian argued.

"That was two weeks ago!" Joey whined, playfully engaging Brian in a fight of shoving each other out of reach for the mike.

"Okay, okay!" Nick called out over the laughter and rapid-fire "Your Mama" jokes, "Come on, guys, be mature."

"You're right," Brian sighed, sending Joey a serious expression, "Rock, Paper, Scissors?"

Joey nodded, and at the count of three, they both held out their hands: Brian was rock and Joey was paper.

"Whoo!" Joey fist-pumped, snatching the mike and choosing from the song bank.

Brian huffed, taking a seat next to Tina, who had found an empty place on a couch, "How does paper even beat rock? It makes no sense…" She could tell he was joking around, though, and that he didn't mind listening to his friend sing at all. Meredith, who was on his other side, nudged him with her elbow and smiled.

The room was shushed when the music began to play, and Joey softly sung out, "_It starts without questioning the answers, and giving up before it's begun._"

"Status Quo," as it was called, turned out to be an empowering tune about taking chances and breaking the boundaries set for you. A smile tugged at her lips as Tina thought of all the kids in New Directions the lyrics could apply to.

Everyone in the group seemed to have amazing voices. Darren and Jaime performed an emotional duet called "Not Alone," and Lauren and Meredith brought everyone to their feet with the silly "Boy Toy." Tina couldn't stop giggling when all the boys in the room moved provocatively to the beat, especially when several of them became uncomfortably close to Devin and Julia.

"Okay, now Tina has to sing something!" Darren urged, as everyone else voiced their agreement.

The quiet teenager's face reddened, "I don't know…"

"Oh, come on! It'll be fun!" Brian tugged her over to the mike, "Just pick a song that hasn't been sung yet from this list and have fun with it… Errr, well, you have to choose between 'Hermione Can't Draw' and 'Liam's Got a Phone Call.' Take your pick."

"I haven't heard either of them," she admitted.

"Okay… sing something acapella," the brunet offered. When Tina's face notably blanched, he added, "Hey, you're the only one who hasn't sung something yet. Besides, you sing in front of your glee club all the time, right? This can't be much different."

Only in the fact that this was the first time for her to sing all by herself in front of a large group of people since she had broken down into tears at Valentine's Day was it much different.

Still, she supposed it was only fair. It was not like she was going to be seeing these people after she left the party, so what could it hurt?

Swallowing, she took a deep breath and belted out, "_Turn out the lights, I feel blue… By seven a.m., only seven winks through._"

A.J. seemed to recognize the song she had chosen, joining in on his keyboard. Feeling a little more comfortable, Tina let herself get lost in the music, dancing around the room as Meredith found her bongos behind the couch and jumped into the beat. Soon, everyone was clapping and bopping in their seats, a few of the girls providing back-up for Tina when needed and the entire room just having a good time.

"_Look at the crowd, they love you now, but come the morning you'll be left for…!"_ Tina belted out the last line as the instrumentals faded into the air. Tina was stunned when everyone stood up and cheered for her, and a smile of contentment lifted her cheeks, "My first standing O." Only this time, it was more than a crazy dream.


	2. How Bad Can I Be?

Disclaimer: I do not actually believe anyone in Starkid would act this way, especially at a certain point in this chapter which you'll see in a while. Also, don't ask why I want to hear Brian sing that song, but I do. I'm just weird.

* * *

"Now, he's been texting me how Rachel is just 'one of a kind' and that I'm being selfish," Tina sighed, concluding her story of the day's events. Brian had offered to drive her back to her car, and they had eventually turned the conversation to why she had been moping earlier on.

Brian shook his head, sympathizing with her, "That sucks. I mean, the texts, but the whole solo thing. I could understand maybe if it were just this once, but this has been going on for three years? I would have quit."

"Several of us actually did and started another glee club, but that didn't last long," she shrugged, then fell silent for a moment before asking softly, "You said you knew how it felt to be underappreciated. Did something like this ever happen in your glee club?" She didn't know them all very well, but Tina couldn't detect any Rachel Berry's in the group of people she had just met. They seemed like a big family who cared about each other and respected everyone's talents, unlike New Directions, in which everyone fought for the spotlight.

He chuckled, "Actually, yeah, kinda, but…" The brunet scratched the back of his neck, sheepish, "I was probably the Rachel in this case."

The female singer sent him an incredulous look, "You? Rachel Berry? Believe me, you two are nothing alike."

"Maybe not now, but last year? I was a douchebag," he sighed, "It all started at Sectionals last year…"

* * *

"Hey, man, you ready?" I had asked Darren, gripping his shoulder, "It's your big debut."

"I know," the curly-haired boy grinned weakly, "Yeah, man, I'm pumped."

Sensing how nervous my friend was, I tried to boost his confidence, "Hey, you're going to do great. You're going to fucking knock this out of the park. They'll be handing you the trophy before the rest of us even come out."

Laughing lightly, he shook his head, "I don't know. I'm terrified. I've never had such a big solo before, at least not in a competition. What if I completely screw it up? What if I'm the reason we don't go to Regionals?"

I shoved him playfully, "Dude! You're Darren freakin' Criss! You can do anything! You make 'Part of Your World' sound manly. You got this, trust me."

I knew he felt better when I saw the sparkle back in his brown eyes, "Thanks, Brian. You're a really good friend."

"Don't mention it, my fellow Dikrat."

It turns out, they probably did decide to give Starkid the trophy after hearing Darren sing that night. I don't know what it was, but he was just on fire; none of us had ever heard him sing like that. We had a party back in the choir room, and Dylan and Joe picked Darren and that huge-ass trophy up on their shoulders.

"Three cheers for Darren freakin' Criss, everybody!" Everyone was raving about him at school and in the show choir circles. It was like he was some famous celebrity. I was really happy for him. He deserved it.

So, since Darren did such a good job at Sectionals, Nick and Matt decided he should sing at Regionals, too.

"Come on, guys," Darren had waved them off with a smile, "We've got plenty of other talented singers in here. Let's give someone else a chance."

Everyone eventually agreed that Darren should sing again, anyway, since he was all our show choir region was talking about. I didn't think much of it at the time – he _was _pretty good, and the second number we did showcased several other people. I didn't get a big line in the song or anything, but I didn't care.

As fate would have it, we won Regionals, too. Everyone had jokingly started calling Darren our "secret weapon."

The next school day after Regionals was usually when Starkid held a big audition for Nationals. It was usually for the seniors who wanted their last hurrah. So, I walked in expecting a mini-showdown between Elona and Chris, our only two seniors, but they were both in favor of just handing the solo off to Darren.

Something in me just snapped. "Seriously? I mean, isn't this getting a little out of hand?" I had asked them. I felt like I was the only one seeing anything wrong here.

"Elona and Chris don't care. They're busy with their class council. Besides, Darren actually wrote a song he wants to –"

I cut Nick off, "I want to audition."

He hadn't been expecting that, and honestly? I hadn't either. "You what?"

"I want to audition against Darren." They let me, but Darren won the vote. I was furious. I had been swaying in the back row all year. I hadn't even gotten a line in the last group number! It was like Starkid had become "Darren and the Crisses" or something.

I stormed out of the choir room, not talking to anybody. I felt betrayed. I felt cheated.

Darren was my friend, but I let my envy and pride take over. I knew I had to get him out of the spotlight somehow.

"_How ba-a-a-ad can I be? I'm just doing what comes naturally. How ba-a-a-ad can I be? I'm just following my destiny. How ba-a-a-ad can I be? I'm just doing what comes naturally. How ba-a-a-ad can I be? How bad could I possibly be?_"

I wasn't putting my all into practice, and everyone knew it. A lot of people tried to calm me down, but I wouldn't listen.

"_Well, there's a principle of nature that every living creature knows. It's called survival of the fittest, and check it this is how it goes: the animal that eats had got to scratch and fight and claw and bite and punch, and the animal that doesn't? Well, the animal that doesn't winds up someone else's lu-u-u-u-unch. I'm just sayin'!"_

So, Nationals arrive, and since the building is so huge our practice area ends up being towards the back in this area that was half-built. They had to pause some construction work, and ladders and tools were everywhere. Since he was basically the star of the show, Darren was sitting in the cleanest corner, doing all kinds of vocal warm-ups and drinking this special tea. I was just so stressed out about the competition and fed up with everything in general that night.

"_How ba-a-a-ad can I be? I'm just doing what comes naturally. How ba-a-a-ad can I be? How bad could I possibly be? Let's see…"_

Everyone got changed and was ready to leave, but something caught my eye and I told everyone I'd catch up with them later. There was this ladder positioned next to a bunch of paint – they had been painting the wall or some shit, I don't know – so being a total jerkface, I decided the only way to get back at Darren last minute was to throw the paint on him. His outfit was a little different from ours so it took him a little longer to leave the room. I set everything up with the ladder and hid until he came by. The plan was just to dunk him in paint – I didn't mean to seriously injure him, but somehow it ended up with the paint can knocking him unconscious.

"_This is all so gratifying! How bad? How bad could this possibly be?"_

"Oh my – Darren!" I scrambled over to him, trying to shake him awake and even going as far as checking his pulse. It didn't help that the paint was red. We ended up having to take him to the hospital and lost our slot in the competition.

For a few hours, everyone stayed in the waiting room. All of us were pretty emotional, but I just couldn't stop crying. This was all my fault, and all over some stupid solo in a competition. He was one of my best friends, and I had just attacked him. I put him in a freaking hospital. How was I going to face him? How was I going to live with myself?

The doctor let us see him, and the next hour was full of hugs and tears and Darren apologizing endlessly for making us miss the competition. He was wrong: I was the reason we didn't even compete. I knew I had to say something to him, so I waited until it was just the two of us.

"Hey, Brian, you all right? You've been uncharacteristically quiet back there," he pointed out teasingly, but when I sat at his bedside and didn't meet his gaze, he knew something was up.

It took me a while to say anything. I wasn't sure what I could say. I blurted out, "I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry, Darren. This is all my fault."

"No, it's not. Look, if you hadn't found me – "

I cut him off, mustering the strength to meet him in the eye, "I threw the paint can."

The look on his face was heartbreaking. I wanted to throw myself out the window, "Damnit, Darren! I didn't mean for you to get hurt! I… I was just so angry, and stupid, and jealous. I ruined your competition solo because you beat me in the audition and I was pissed," I buried my face in my hands, "I should be the one in the hospital bed."

His voice was surprisingly soft, although hurt was still evident in it, "Why didn't you just talk to me?"

"I couldn't. I mean, everyone else was fine with it. You beat me at the audition by a long shot. It's not like it would have changed anything. Anyways, I was being selfish," I couldn't find a valid excuse for my insanity.

"So was I," Darren offered after a beat.

"Don't you dare!" I demanded, "This is my fault! You did nothing wrong!"

"I got cocky," he retaliated, "I was so overwhelmed with how talented everyone said I was that I didn't stop to think about everyone else in the club. I should have stepped down and let you have the solo."

"Why? You were fantastic! You earned it," I argued.

"So did you! I mean, I have to admit the Dreamworks came out of nowhere. I thought we had a strict Disney-only policy." I nodded at that – it's true. "But you have a really amazing voice, Brian. You should let the world hear it as much as possible."

I couldn't help but smile, although I was still depressed about the entire ordeal, "I'll never be able to make this up to you. How could you possibly forgive me?"

"Hey, I never said I forgive you. You owe me a new outfit, you little shit."

* * *

"… And so, Starkid began having fair auditions for each competition, Darren somehow managed to forgive me for giving him a concussion after I bought him a High School Musical shirt – don't ask – and this year, the group has been closer than ever," Brian finished his tale. They had parked next to Tina's car somewhere along the story, but they both were too engrossed in the tale to leave yet.

"Wow," Tina concluded, "I never pegged you as the kind of person to throw a paint can at someone's head."

"Hey! That part was an accident! But, yeah, I was a little shit. If it makes you feel any better, I have not auditioned for any solos since and I have been given the job of buying and mending every costume we have worn this year," he declared.

"Well, we have that in common," Tina smiled, "Which reminds me: I haven't even gotten started on New Directions' costumes yet."

"You guys are such procrastinators. What, are you going to wait 'til the day of to buy the plane tickets?" Brian jested. "In all seriousness, though… I hope your club does well and that you don't go batshit insane like I did."

"I'm making no such promises," she grinned mischievously, "Thanks for everything tonight, Brian. You really helped me out with a lot of things."

"Glad to know that five dollar milkshake was worth it," he smirked, "I'll see you around, Miss Cohen-Chang. If that boyfriend of yours keeps giving you trouble, let me know and I'll give him a piece of my mind."

"Thanks, but I don't think that will be necessary now," she had made up her mind about a lot of things that night. Although she felt neglected and that Rachel had an unfair advantage over the rest of the club, she wasn't about to let the diva ruin her relationship with Mike. She knew she had to tell him how she felt. "Bye."


	3. A Chance to Shine

AN: I'm aware this chapter is both short and very late, but I recently had to wipe my computer. Fortunately, I was able to save this file, and hopefully the next chapter will come soon and be much more quality. :) Also, feel free to vote on who you think should win the solo! Actually, it's probably not even going to be Tina, anyways, unless you all really want her to win. I'm leaning towards Mercedes, Kurt, or maybe even Puck at the moment, since they haven't had big competition solos and they're amazingly talented. More suggestions are certainly welcome!

* * *

Tina had barely set one foot in the choir room when Mike blocked her path.

"Look, Tina, I'm sorry that I upset you. I was just trying to –" The dancer's sentence was cut short by a peck on the lips.

"I'm not angry at you," his girlfriend assured him with a small smile, "I overreacted, I guess. It's just, I've been holding it in for so long, that it just… came out."

He nodded, "I know." He wrapped his long arms around her, placing his chin on her head, "That's why I had Mr. Schue call this meeting today."

"What?" Sure, Tina had been surprised – and a little frustrated – at the last-minute mass text telling everyone to meet in the choir room nearly an hour before before school started, but she had figured they were simply getting in extra practice time for Nationals. "Why?"

He pulled away from their embrace to beam eagerly at her, "Because you deserve a chance to shine."

Bewildered, Tina simply stared groggily at him. She had stayed up late the night before partying with the Starkids, so she hadn't gotten a healthy amount of sleep, to put it lightly. Maybe she was even still asleep and just dreaming up this whole random situation.

Mike gently led her to a seat in the front and sat down beside her, an arm hanging around the back of her chair. A few minutes later, everyone had shuffled to their chairs, grumbling under their breaths about how early they were forced to wake up. Mr. Schue took his place in front of the whiteboard, looking as bemused as the rest of the group.

"Mr. Schue, why in the world are we here at 7:30 in the morning? It's too early to stomach the Discovery Channel-esque display of the Dinosaur trying to eat Berry's face off," Santana crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at the teacher. Finn and Rachel appeared justifiably offended at the last comment.

At this point in the glee club's run, Will had decided trying to silence the students' glossary of insults was fruitless, "Actually, I don't know, myself. I think Mike has something important he wants to discuss with us."

Rachel shifted in her seat as if she could somehow sense her demise in what was coming, and Tina herself was growing anxious. Mike stood next to Mr. Schue, cutting straight to the point, "I propose an audition process for Nationals solos."

Several noises of approval followed, while Berry's jaw plunged, "What? Okay, I might have expected this behavior from Mercedes or, recently, Tina, but why are _you_ trying to ruin my chances of getting into NYADA?" Mercedes and Tina shared a look of exasperation. Santana had the decency to hide her laughter behind her hand.

Mr. Schue sighed, knowing he was in for a headache no matter what direction this meeting went in, "Mike, it's a little late in the game here…"

"Exactly. We haven't exactly been preparing our set list yet," that appeared to shut him up, "Which is why we should do it later today," before Rachel could object further, Mike hurried on, "We can't just throw solos at people who haven't worked for them. I know this is the last competition for the seniors, but everyone has grown in the past three years. It wouldn't be fair to not let everyone fight for their chance in the spotlight. We've all earned it."

Artie pumped his fist in the air with a hearty "Preach!", and Sam's large mouth stretched into a smile as he held Mercedes' hand. Tina wanted to cry at how much she loved her boyfriend.

"I'm totally going to knock this ball out of the park, " Sugar stated with the utmost confidence.

"Mr. Schue, you're not going to let them do this to me, right? This is my last chance…" Rachel pleaded desperately. Finn looked conflicted.

"What's the matter, Berry? 'Fraid you're gonna lose?" Santana raised a pencil-thin eyebrow smugly.

"N-no!" The singer defended herself hastily, stumbling over her words, "It's just that I don't think this competition will be judged fairly. It'll be a popularity contest…"

Mercedes shot Rachel an especially dirty look, remembering the favoritism shown in the casting of Maria for _West Side Story_. Sam held her back with a shake of his head, signaling it wasn't worth the energy.

"I know some people who can judge fairly," Tina offered, smiling, "They don't even go to this school, and they're singers themselves. There wouldn't be any bias involved."

Will relented after silently thinking the idea through, "Well, I don't see why not. We'll do this in the auditorium after school today. Choose a song you think you can sing well and perform it in front of the judges."

The room burst into excited chatter, several club members filing out of the room. Tina wasted no time in flinging herself into her boyfriend's arms; Mike seemed to be expecting her, lifting her into the air with a pleased expression. He was glad to see his lover so at peace after the previous day's incident, and even more so that he was the one who made her feel that way.

Meanwhile, Tina was racking her brain for some eloquent phrase that could express her feelings for the boy in front of her, but all that came out of her mouth was a simple but heartfelt, "I love you."

He responded with an even simpler kiss.

* * *

The Starkid's lunch table was engaging in a friendly game of tape ball when Brian Holden's phone buzzed. "Hold on a sec, guys," he discreetly peered down at his phone, hoping no lunch monitors were nearby to catch him in the act. Cell phones were "prohibited" at Umbridge High, and even though students rarely got in trouble when they were caught, he still didn't want to take any chances. The small screen lit up to reveal a text message from Tina, and he smiled as he read it. Apparently, things were starting to look up for New Directions, and it made him doubly pleased to discover it was because of Tina's boyfriend, who had been somewhat unappreciative the day before.

"Hey, guys - " the brunet glanced up, only to have the tape ball hit him directly in the nose. Everyone else broke out in snickers as Brolden flicked the offending object back at the person who had sent it. As the giggling settled down, Brian tried again, "Hey, do any of you want to judge a singing competition this afternoon? Tina's show choir needs help choosing a soloist."

"This late? Wow," Julia couldn't imagine having only that small amount of time to prepare.

"I'll do it!" Lauren piped up before digging back into her sandwich.

"Sounds fun," Darren agreed, "We could be like the American Idol judges."

"I call Simon Cowell!" The tiny blond claimed, her voice muffled by the sandwich parts she had yet to swallow.

"He's not even on there anymore," Joey pointed out.

"Okay, fine, X-Factor," Brian settled the dispute before it could even begin, "All right. Darren, Lauren, and I will head over there after school. We'll probably be late for practice."

Nick waved him off, "It's fine. We're obviously better prepared than they are. We'll at least get second to last place."

"We're number 49!" A.J. playfully chanted, the rest of the club members joining in with exuberance and earning quite a few annoyed glances from the surrounding tables.


End file.
